Steve Carlton

Steve Carlton.Ronald C. Modra—Sports Imagery/Getty Images

Steve Carlton, in full Steven Norman Carlton, byname Lefty
(born Dec. 22, 1944, Miami, Fla., U.S.), American professional baseball player. In 1983 Carlton became the second pitcher to surpass Walter Johnson’s career record of 3,508 strikeouts (Nolan Ryan was the first).

Carlton pitched for Miami-Dade, a junior college in Florida, before the left-hander signed a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1965. After a stint in the minor leagues, he moved up to the Cardinals in 1966. He was a three-time all-star in St. Louis, but a salary dispute with team management resulted in Carlton being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies after the 1971 season.

Carlton came into his own while pitching for the Phillies: he captured the pitching Triple Crown in his first season in Philadelphia—leading the National League (NL) in earned run average (1.97), wins (27), and strikeouts (310)—and won the NL Cy Young Award as the league’s best pitcher. He went on to lead the league in strikeouts four more times (1974, 1980, 1982, 1983) and placed in the top 10 in NL strikeouts 16 times over the course of his 24-season career. A workhorse pitcher, Carlton also finished atop the league in innings pitched on five occasions. He won the NL Cy Young Award three more times (1977, 1980, 1982) before he left the Phillies in 1986.

Although he announced his retirement in 1986 after recording his 4,000th strikeout (while with the San Francisco Giants), Carlton continued to play, pitching for several teams until 1988. His 329 wins were the ninth highest total in major league history at the time of his retirement. Carlton amassed 4,136 strikeouts during his career, an amount exceeded only by Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, and Roger Clemens. Carlton was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.